ST. GEORGE, N.B.,
Jan. 17 - (Special) - A blanket verdict was returned in the deaths of Allan
McCullough, St. Andrews, John (Jack) McCarthy, 40, Fairville, and Louis Lloyd,
35, Crow Harbour, Charlotte County, who were injured fatally when a truck in
which they and eight companions were riding on Wednesday afternoon, left the
highway at Pennfield Ridge and overturned in a ditch, at a coroner's inquest
here today. No blame was attached to the driver of the truck, Cecil Lee Colwell,
Saint John.
The jury recommended that in future the Motor Vehicle Act be
rigidly enforced with respect to workmen being permitted to drive or ride on
such trucks.
Coroner, Dr. F.V. Maxwell, St. George, presided at the inquiry
by C.J.A. Hughes, St. Stephen, clerk of the peace, and Constable C.W. Prime, of
the St. George detachment of the R.C.M.P. Twelve witnesses, including some of
the men who were in the truck at the time of the fatality, testified.
The Verdict
The verdict returned by
the jury was as follows: "That the said Allan McCullough came to his death
at the parish of Pennfield in the County of Charlotte, in the Province of New
Brunswick, on the 14th day of January, 1941, by being crushed under a heavy
compressor attached to a motor truck which overturned on the main highway in the
said parish of Pennfield, probably caused by a flat tire on the rear wheel. No
blame can be attached to the driver of the said truck.
"We recommend that in future the Motor Vehicle Act be
rigidly enforced with respect to workmen being permitted to drive or ride on
such trucks."
Similar verdicts were returned in each of the other two
deaths.
Members of the jury were Frank Frawley, foreman, J.C. Spinney,
Arthur Stewart, Henry Matheson, Edward Dewar, Nick Meating, Bobby Parks, Ralph
Alexander and George Henry.
B.C. Parker, foreman at Pennfield for the New Brunswick
Electric Power Commission in connection with the installation of electric lines
and equipment at the new airport, was the first witness. He testified the the
New Brunswick Telephone Co., Limited truck or compressor truck (the coroner
suggested this name in order to distinguish between the two trucks), was hired
for the sole purpose of breaking the frost. He stated that it was not customary
for the men to ride to and from work in this particular truck.
Driver On Stand
Cecil Lee Colwell,
Saint John, driver of the compressor truck, stated that just before it
overturned it swayed but that he thought he could get it straightened out. He
was driving about 20 miles an hour at the time. He told of the Power Commission
truck breaking down and the switch being made to the compressor truck, and he
started to drive them to their boarding house.
G.A. Vandervoort, chief engineer of the New Brunswick
Electric Power Commission, asked the witness if any attempt had been made to
start the Power Commission truck before the compressor truck was used to
transport the men. The witness said an attempt was made without success.
Mr. Colwell stated, in reply to a question from the coroner,
that he had no instructions not to pick up the men.
In answer to a question by one of the jurymen as to the
condition of the compressor truck, Mr. Colwell said that this truck was in good
condition and that he experienced no difficulty in driving the truck from Saint
John.
Workman Heard
H.E. Walton, one of the workmen, testified that at 5 o'clock the men knocked off work and got aboard the New Brunswick Power Commission truck. He said that he tried to start the truck but that it did not work satisfactorily. They got the truck to go as far as the airport, he added, but the motor "died completely there," He told of using the compressor truck to tow the Power Commission's truck off the highway so as not to obstruct traffic. He said that he was in the compressor truck at the time of the accident and was in the cab with Colwell and Merchie Tracy.
Post-Mortem Report
Dr. R.A. Massie, St.
George, submitted a post-mortem report in the case of Lloyd, disclosing that
death was caused by a haemorrhage. Other Evidence The sixth witness was
another passenger in the truck, Joseph Collett. He said that he was on the left
hand side of the truck next to the cab. There were five men on his side and on
the other side were the three accident victims. At the time of the accident, he
stated, all the men were standing up and when the crash occurred he was thrown
through the tarpaulin which the men had used to shelter them from the severe
wind. Constable Called Constable Prime, of the
R.C.M.P., was the 10th witness. He described in detail the position of the
compressor truck after the accident. He said that the accident occurred shortly
after 5 o'clock and that he had come from Saint John about 6:15. In answer to a
question by one of the jurymen as to the speed of the compressor truck at the
time of the accident Constable Prime testified that from his observations he did
not believe the truck was travelling at a fast rate of speed. Juryman Testifies Robert Parks, one of
the members of the jury, was sworn in as a witness. He stated that during the
noon recess he examined the truck in a local garage and found one tire on the
right hand side was flat and that the dual tire on the same wheel had less than
70 pounds of air. Return
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Respecting the other two victims, the coroner submitted
reports from Dr. W. Everett Gray, Milltown, N.B., who attended McCullough and
McCarthy after they had been taken to the Chipman Memorial Hospital, St.
Stephen. They indicated that the cause of death in both cases resulted from
abdominal haemorrhage.
Merchie Tracy, another workman, was the fifth witness. He
said he was a passenger in the truck. Just prior to the mishap he stated the
machine seemed to sway to the right, that it ran into the ditch and turned over
on its side. He could not attribute any reason for the cause of the accident.
To Mr. Hughes, witness said there were bare spots on the
pavement of the highway at the spot where the truck left the road.
Aurel Cassidy, a passenger in the truck, substantiated
previous evidence.
Edward Morrell said that he was driving his truck from Saint
John and was short distance from the compressor truck when he saw it swerve and
go into the ditch. He testified that the road was bare at this spot. He noticed
the radiator of the truck was pinning one man down. He hooked his vehicle to the
truck and pulled it off.
Mrs. Morrell, who was riding in the truck with her husband,
testified that he saw the compressor truck upset but stated she could not
remember just how it happened.
The last witness was George Duncan, automobile mechanic, St.
George. He said that at request of the coroner he examined the steering gear of
truck and found it in good condition.
Asked by the coroner to suggest a reason for the probable
cause of the accident, Mr. Duncan declared that the truck had "a heavy
overhanging load which would make it difficult to handle."
On the resumption of the hearing in the afternoon Mr. Colwell
was recalled to the stand and asked by the coroner of saw any car coming towards
him just prior to the accident. Colwell stated that he did not see any car or
truck.
Colwell was asked by a juryman if he had any knowledge of a
tire being flat. He replied he did not.
SOURCE: The Telegraph-Journal (Saint John, NB) - January 18, 1941.
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